Brattleboro survived Open Town Meeting.
It looked a lot like a Representative Town meeting, but there were small differences. Attendees were called “Voters” rather than “Representatives.” There was no separate seating for the un-elected. People who just moved to town could participate.
The similarities were numerous. A bit of confusion about Roberts Rules? Check. Exciting explorations down rabbit holes of amendments to amendments. Check. Lasting nearly 10 hours? Check.
I watched a bit in the morning and a bit in the afternoon. The crowd seemed to be about the same size as RTMs, and the numbers fell off a it as they day went by. I saw new faces, which really seemed to be the point of switching to Open Town Meeting, so that worked. And, of course, a handful of people enjoyed calling the question to cease debate.
The discussions seemed similar to previous years, with some folks offering up interesting new ideas for debate and discussion. Seemed rather healthy.
I didn’t watch it all, though. If you were there, what did you think? Will Brattleboro be governed well by Open Town Meeting in your view?
